Mit dem Spitzentechnologiecluster „Energieeffiziente Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen in der Produktionstechnik“ (eniPROD®) werden die am Wissenschaftsstandort Chemnitz vorhandenen exzellenten Forschungsbereiche gebündelt, um einen national und international sichtbaren Beitrag zur Umsetzung der Vision einer nahezu emissionsfreien Produktion bei gleichzeitiger Erhöhung der Ressourceneffizienz zu leisten. Um dieses Ziel erreichen zu können, sind Methoden erforderlich, mit denen Energieverbräuche unter Einbeziehung technischer, ökonomischer und ökologischer Kriterien erfasst und bewertet werden können. Die im Rahmen von eniPROD® gebildete Querschnittsarbeitsgruppe 1 „Energetisch-wirtschaftliche Bilanzierung“ setzt sich intensiv mit solchen Bilanzierungs- und Bewertungsmethoden auseinander. Der vorliegende Band enthält die Beiträge eines von der Querschnittsarbeitsgruppe initiierten Workshops, in dem verschiedene Facetten des Themenkomplexes der energetisch-wirtschaftlichen Bilanzierung und Bewertung von Wissenschaftlern verschiedener Disziplinen aufgegriffen und diskutiert wurden.

Black grouse Tetrao tetrix is a bird species composed of large, continuous as well as severely reduced and fragmented populations, making it an optimal species to investigate how genetic diversity is affected by habitat fragmentation. I have focused on genetic diversity in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) to measure the ability of the black grouse to respond to environmental changes. I partly characterized MHC class II in black grouse and found striking similarities with chicken MHC class II. I demonstrated that black grouse possess a similar compact MHC as chicken with few MHC class II B (BLB) and Y (YLB) loci. I did not find evidence of balancing selection in YLB so I concentrated further studies on BLB. I developed a PCR-based screening method for amplifying and separating expressed BLB alleles in European black grouse populations. Small fragmented populations had lost neutral genetic diversity (based on microsatellites and SNPs) compared to samples from the historical distribution and contemporary large populations. There was also a trend, albeit less pronounced, for reduced MHC diversity in these populations. Neutral markers in small isolated populations were affected by increased levels of genetic drift and were therefore genetically differentiated compared to other populations. MHC markers on the other hand, were not subjected to genetic drift to the same extent probably due a long historic process of balancing selection. Inferences of heterozygosity and evolutionary patterns as well as detailed correlations to reproductive success and diseases cannot be performed until MHC can be amplified in a locus-specific manner. Therefore, I developed a single locus sequence-based typing method for independently amplifying MHC class II B loci (BLB1 and BLB2). I found that BLB1 and BLB2 were duplicated in a common ancestor to chickens and black grouse and that these loci are subjected to homogenizing concerted evolution due to inter-genetic exchange between loci after species divergence.  I could also verify that both BLB1 and BLB2 were transcribed in black grouse and under balancing selection. This collection of work has significance for future conservation of black grouse as well as research and management of zoonotic diseases.

This thesis explores the functions of laughter in Japanese communication. In orientation it contrasts markedly with previous studies and is the first study to have been based on such a large volume of data. In this paper I have focused on laughter as it serves to maintain a co-operative relationship between the participants in a conversation. I find that in the process of communication, people necessarily have to lay themselves open to others, and in doing so they become conscious of the barrier surrounding and protecting their field, i.e. their �inner world�. I hypothesise that in Japanese at least it is consciousness of this barrier that causes the occurrence of laughter in discourse. In other words, people laugh as part of the process of opening up to others, and also to show their intention to be co-operative. By laughing, people are either confirming that they belong to the same in-group, or they are pretending to belong to the same in-group in order to show co-operation. In my model, laughter is classified: A: Joyful laughter for identifying with the in-group B: Balancing laughter for easing tension C: Laughter as a cover-up. A is also divided into 3 subcategories, B into 3, and C into 2 according to the subject of the utterance and the direction of movement into the protective barrier. Two types of statistical analysis were applied to the data in order to the test the validity of the classification. Keywords: interpersonal communication; laughter; field; barrier; co-operation; joy; balancing; cover-up gender

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. School of Technology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-62).

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [283]-300) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [283]-300) and index.

We propose a balanced tree structure overlay on a peer-to-peer network capable of supporting both exact queries and range queries efficiently. In spite of the tree structure causing distinctions to be made between nodes at different levels in the tree, we show that the load at each node is approximately equal. In spite of the tree structure providing precisely one path between any pair of nodes, we show that sideways routing tables maintained at each node provide sufficient fault tolerance to permit efficient repair. Specifically, in a network with N nodes, we guarantee that both exact queries and range queries can be answered in O(logN) steps and also that update operations (to both data and network) have an amortized cost of O(logN). An experimental assessment validates the practicality of our proposal. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία εφαρμόζουμε τις αρχές της Θεωρίας Παιγνίων και πιο συγκεκριμένα τις έννοιες των Ισορροπιών Nash και των Παιγνίων Εξισορρόπησης Φορτίου, με σκοπό να αναλύσουμε την επίδραση που έχει στην απόδοση των δικτύων και των κατανεμημένων συστημάτων η εγωιστική και ανταγωνιστική συμπεριφορά των χρηστών τους. Πρώτα εξετάζουμε το παίγνιο της εξισορρόπησης φορτίου με τρεμάμενο χέρι σε ταυτόσημες μηχανές ως προς την ύπαρξη αγνών ισορροπιών Nash. Δείχνουμε πως υπάρχει πάντα μία αγνή ισορροπία Nash με αναγωγή από τα αποτελέσματα για τα παίγνια εξισορρόπησης φορτίου. Έπειτα, δίνουμε αλγόριθμο πολυωνυμικού χρόνου για τον υπολογισμό της ισορροπίας αυτής. Τέλος, εξετάζουμε το κόστος της Αναρχίας του παιγνίου. Το κόστος της Αναρχίας εκφράζει την απόκλιση της απόδοσης της χειρότερης Ισορροπίας Nash από την βέλτιστη απόδοση. Αποδεικνύουμε πως το κόστος της Αναρχίας του παιχνιδιού φράσσεται εκ των άνω από μία μικρή σταθερά. / In the present diploma thesis we will be using basic concepts of Game Theory, more specifically the concepts of Nash Equilibrium and Load Balancing Games, in order to analyse the effect of egoistic and competitive user's behaviour on the efficiency of networks and distributed systems. Firstly, we prove that the trembling hand load balancing game on identical machines always admits a pure Nash equilibrium. Secondly, we find an algorithm that computes this Nash equilibrium in polynomial time. Finally, we compare the social cost of pure equilibria with optimal solutions. This ratio is called pure price of Anarchy. We prove that the pure price of anarchy is bounded by a small constant factor.

Diante dos desafios impostos pelo sistema econômico, características dos mercados e exigências dos clientes, as empresas são forçadas a operar com lotes de produção cada vez menores, dificultando a gestão de operações e a otimização dos sistemas produtivos. Desse modo, intensifica-se nos meios corporativos e acadêmicos a busca por abordagens que possibilitem a criação de diferenciais competitivos de mercado, sendo esta a justificativa prática deste trabalho, que propõe uma sistemática integrada para alocação, sequenciamento e balanceamento de lotes em um horizonte de programação em múltiplas linhas de produção em um sistema multiproduto com operadores polivalentes. A sistemática proposta foi dividida em três fases. A primeira fase utiliza um algoritmo genético multiobjetivo com o intuito de determinar a linha de produção em que cada lote será produzido. A segunda fase é responsável pelo sequenciamento dos lotes produtivos e se apoia em uma alteração da regra Apparent Tardiness Cost (ATC). Na terceira fase utilizou-se o método Ranked Positional Weight (RPW) para balancear a distribuição das tarefas entre os operadores polivalentes de cada linha de produção, respeitando a precedência das tarefas. A sistemática foi aplicada em dados reais do segmento têxtil, aprimorando os indicadores produtivos e de entrega e conferindo maior flexibilidade ao processo frente à demanda sazonal. / Faced with the challenges imposed by the economic system, characteristic of the markets and requirements of the customers, the companies are forced to operate with smaller production batches, making it difficult to manage operations and optimization of the production systems. In this way, the search for improvements that allow the creation of competitive differentials of market is intensified in the corporate and academic circles. This is the practical justification for this work, which proposes an integrated systematics for the allocation, sequencing and balancing of batches in a horizon of programming in multiple production lines in a multiproduct system with multipurpose operators. The systematic proposal was divided into three phases. The first phase uses a multiobjective genetic algorithm with intention to determine the production line in which each batch will be produced. The second phase is responsible for the sequencing of productive batches and is based on a change in the rule Apparent Tardiness Cost (ATC). In the third phase the method Ranked Positional Weight (RPW) was used to balance the distribution of the tasks between the multipurpose operators of each line of production, respecting the precedence of the tasks. The systematics was applied in real data of the textile segment, improving the productive and delivery indicators and giving greater flexibility of the process against the seasonal demand.

Reactive motion planning and local navigation of robots remains a significant challenge in the motion control of robotic vehicles. This thesis presents new results on vision guided navigation using optical flow. By detecting key image features, calculating optical flow and leveraging time-to-transit (tau) as a feedback signal, control architectures can steer a vehicle so as to avoid obstacles while simultaneously using them as navigation beacons. Averaging and balancing tau over multiple image features successfully guides a vehicle along a corridor while avoiding looming objects in the periphery. In addition, the averaging strategy deemphasizes noise associated with rotationally induced flow fields, mitigating risks of positive feedback akin to the Larsen effect. A recently developed, biologically inspired, binary-key point description algorithm, FReaK, offers process speed-ups that make vision-based feedback signals achievable. A Parrot ARDrone2 has proven to be a reliable platform for testing the architecture and has demonstrated the control law's effectiveness in using time-to-transit calculations for real-time navigation.